Gaza Rocket Slams into Israel

Gaza terrorists fired a short range rocket at Israeli population centers. No one was hurt. Report: Hamas trying to prevent rocket fire.

By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 3/21/2010, 10:03 PM / Last Update: 3/21/2010, 10:08 PM

Flash 90

Gaza terrorists fired a short range rocket at Israeli civilian centers Sunday evening. The rocket exploded south of the coastal city of Ashkelon, hurting no one and causing no damage.

Prior to this attack, Sunday saw a lull in the rocket fire, after four rockets were fired at Israeli civilians on Saturday. No one was hurt in those attacks.

A leader of Hamas in Gaza, Mahmoud al-Zahar, blamed the rival Fatah terror group for the rocket fire and said that it served Fatah's interests as well as Israel's. “The rocket fire serves the enemy and allows it to steer attention away from the crimes it commits in the occupied territories,” he said.

The Al Ahed website, which is associated with Fatah, reported that Hamas militiamen had fanned out along the border between Gaza and Israel and were preventing rocket fire at the Jewish state.

The PalToday news agency, meanwhile, claimed that gunmen in Gaza had “received a green light to respond to any Israeli aggression.” PalToday is affiliated with Islamic Jihad terrorists.